July 2, 2002

One good turn deserves another… and another… and another

Kenney helps families in difficulty through Action programs

By FAITH TOMEI

ftomei@cnc.com

PHOTO BY FAITH TOMEI

Tone Kenney greets Ipswich residents with a smile at her desk in Public Works Dept. at Town Hall.

Ted and Tone Kenney moved to Massachusetts, Ted’s home state in the 1970s. An electronics engineer, Kenney bought a house on Great Neck and commuted to work in Boston while Tone stayed at home for with their four children. Soon after their move to Ipswich, however, Ted Kenney was diagnosed with chronic liver problems.

No longer able to work full time, Kenney moved to Southern Heights, a subsidized housing complex for families on County Road. He died in 1975, leaving Tone with the two youngest children – a 5-year-old and a teenager – to care for and support.

The Minnesota native had begun nursing school before meeting her husband, but she dropped out when she married. Kenney was struggling to make ends meet, finding that survivor’s benefits didn’t go very far. That’s when she learned about Action, Inc., the antipoverty agency that serves Ipswich and Cape Ann.

A community organizer for Action visited Kenney and told her about fuel assistance, a government-backed program that helps pay heating bills for people whose incomes are below the federal poverty level.

Later Action steered Kenney to a training program in office skills that qualified her for a good job close to home. She had been supporting her family as a nurses’ aide but decided office work would be more suitable as she got older.

Because of the help she got from Action, Kenney plunged into advocacy work for Action, which gives people like her a helping hand. Action, begun in 1965, steers low- to moderate-income families to programs like Head Start, Compass Youth Program, housing assistance, home care for the handicapped and elderly, as well to the two programs that helped her – fuel assistance and job training.

" Action helps people to help themselves. That’s why I’m involved, " Kenney said. Since she was invited to serve on Action’s board in 1983, she’s been an ambassador for Action, letting others know about the programs that are available and answering questions for those who want to know more.

In May, Kenney was elected chairman of the Ipswich Housing Authority; she had won her first five-year term on the Housing Authority Board in the 1999 town election. A month later, Kenney was re-elected to her sixth year as chairman of Action by her colleagues on the Action Board.

She first joined Action’s Cape Ann board 21 years ago as a representative for the town of Ipswich, sitting alongside members from Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

The 24-member board, which meets every two months in Gloucester and has a mix of low-income representatives, public servants, and community leaders in banking, law, and other professions. Ipswich residents serving with Kenney are Charlotte Dodge and Carol Ouellette.

" Our main job is to set policy. I think I was elected chair because I like to keep meetings from running late. They used to go until midnight, " she recalls. Kenney dreaded those long drives from Gloucester to Ipswich, especially on cold winter nights.

Kenney says with a smile that Action attracts " a nice bunch. We have a good time, but I try to keep the chit-chat down during meetings. "

Most Ipswich residents know Kenney as the administrative assistant for the Department of Public Works. She was hired by recently retired DPW director Armand Michaud 16 years ago soon after completing Action classes.

She worked briefly as a temporary office worker in Lynn, but when she saw the Ipswich DPW job advertised, she went for it. She now works on the third floor of the newly renovated Town Hall, handing out green recycling bins, answering residents’ questions, and sometimes hearing their complaints. Since January, she’s been reporting to the new DPW head Bob Gravino.

Though she’s at an age when many retire – she’ll be 67 in November – Kenney wants to stay on the job. " I can’t imagine not getting up to go to work. I like to stay busy, and I like meeting people, " Kenney said.

Her love of people and activity spills over into her volunteer work with Action. Though the Action board meets infrequently, her advocacy work for Action and for the Housing Authority take up her time after work. Last week, she had three evening meetings, this week two.

In her quiet, no frills way, Kenney goes about trying to make life better for Ipswich residents going through tough times. She’s currently fighting to keep the Head Start program for preschoolers at the Masonic Temple on Topsfield Road in Ipswich. " They’re proposing busing three- and four-year-old children from Ipswich to Gloucester. That’s too far for little ones, especially in the winter, " she said. She’d also like to bring Compass, a program that encourages high school dropouts to return to school, to Ipswich.

Her dream is to see an Action office in Ipswich, open at least part time for counseling, job training classes, and other services. " We don’t have the visibility here. Traveling to offices in Gloucester can be a problem for people who are trying to pull themselves together. " Ipswich has offered space for Action at Town Hall, but the agency doesn’t have the budget to staff the programs, she said.

Once in a while, she’ll receive a phone call about a person in need. State Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, has contacted her to ask about Action’s services for a destitute family. But she’s at Town Hall to work for the DPW, she said, and people could use more help locally.

When she’s not at Town Hall or attending meetings, Kenney is busy with family and friends. Her children and grandchildren are all within a two-hour drive, so she sees them often, though they complain " You’re never home. "

In March, her family helped her move from an apartment on North Main Street to a smaller place in Agawam Village.

She knows a lot of Agawam residents, including her best friend. So she’s content with the move. " But I’m not a ‘socializing’ person. I like people, but I also like having my own space, " she said. She enjoys quilting and reading mysteries. On weekends, she has fun " yard sale-ing " with friends and often finds books. " I can’t collect much, however, because my apartment is small, " she said.

When she has time, she likes to travel. She’s taken bus tours to Nashville, Niagara Falls, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, SC, and always meets interesting fellow travelers.

This story appeared in the Ipswich Chronicle on July 2, 2002.